Union,NJ
Local officials will decide this weekend whether to shut down a popular roller rink in Union after a teenager was shot to death there early yesterday morning.
“A tragedy occurred as a result of something that happened in this establishment,” said Union Mayor Clifton People. “It will be closed all this weekend; it’s a crime scene. And it will not be allowed to reopen until the issues are resolved. My recommendation is that the license be revoked.”
Almost 700 young people between the ages of 13 and 25 years old were at a private Christmas night skating party at Skate 22 roller rink when a fight broke out between two groups of people about 12:45 a.m., said John Holl, a spokesman for the Union County prosecutor’s office.
The fight spilled outside with a shot or shots fired in the parking lot. When it was over, 16-year-old Jean D’Haiti of Elizabeth was dead, according to Prosecutor Theodore J. Romankow, who said there was a lone gunman. He declined to say how many shots were fired or where D’Haiti was hit.
Romankow said there were two “factions of organized groups,” but said authorities do not know if the shooting was gang related.
The party was scheduled from 8:30 p.m. to 1:30 a.m., but Romankow said the organizers, whom authorities would not identify, began to end it early because of the disturbances.
At the D’Haiti apartment yesterday, family members and friends streamed in and out, but none would talk about the victim or the incident. One small group brought in a shopping cart filled with bottled water, rolls of paper towels and other items.
“They are people who have come to share their condolences,” said a man who answered the door at the apartment.
He also said no one in the family, natives of Haiti, wanted to talk about the shooting.
“They cannot talk to people now,” said the man, who described himself as a relative, but would not give his name.
“He was a nice guy,” the man said of the victim, who said D’Haiti attended Elizabeth High School.
Dama Isaac, who lives in the apartment next door, described D’Haiti as “a good boy, a quiet boy.”
Witnesses who attended the Christmas night party told the Associated Press that fights between groups of girls erupted throughout the night.
Felicia Johnson, who was at the scene, said there was a gang fight outside the rink and the victim was shot twice in the head.
Diamond Watkins, a teenager who was at the party, said the boy was shot in front of her. She said screaming people stampeded toward the doors to get out and some were trampled.
The mayor said authorities would investigate the shooting thoroughly.
“I know we will be pursuing this matter vigorously until we find out who is responsible,” People said.
“It’s unfortunate any time there’s a shooting,” he added. “We don’t condone that kind of behavior in our township.”
Daniel Antonelli, township attorney, said an emergency meeting would be held 10 a.m. today in the main meeting room of Town Hall to discuss whether the entertainment license that allows Skate 22 to operate should be revoked. A woman listed on the license as Skate 22’s manager could not be reached last night for comment, nor did anyone answer a knock on the door of the building.
“In light of this incident, the mayor and township committee are very concerned about the health and safety not only of the patrons and our residents but of law enforcement,” Antonelli said.
People said there have been other “disturbances” in the parking lot and authorities would investigate whether overcrowding or any other violations occurred at the facility.
“We will determine how many people were in there and if there’s a problem, we’ll address that,” he said.
In 1997, Skate 22 was ordered shut down by a judge for at least 45 days due to dozens of brawls that occurred, according to reports. A year before that, a teenager was beaten bloody there.
People said two off-duty police officers were working as security guards inside the rink but it was unclear whether either one witnessed the shooting.
A law enforcement source, who requested anonymity because he was not authorized to disclose the information to the media, said investigators had obtained tapes from security cameras inside the rink. But two cameras outside that might have captured the shooting were not operating, the source said.
Investigators were also studying tapes of other security cameras at other businesses in the area. The rink is located behind a strip mall on Route 22 and adjacent to both a retail store and a go-go bar.
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